The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon as Professor Sara Oak sat at her desk in her Pallet Town lab. Papers, maps, and ancient texts littered the surface, each detailing new discoveries and theories about Pokémon behavior. She adjusted her glasses and scanned the handwritten notes on a rare species of Ekans when the door creaked open.

A young researcher from Hoenn, his clothes slightly wrinkled from travel, stood hesitantly in the doorway.

"Ah, you must be the new researcher," Professor Oak said, her voice warm but authoritative. She didn’t look up immediately but gestured toward the chair opposite her. "Sit. I've just come across something fascinating about the way certain Pokémon communicate. But I suspect you didn’t come here to watch me scribble notes. What brings you to Pallet Town?"